Foreword
A number of books have been written about software process improvement over
the years, some of them quite good, some less so. Ralf has written a book that I
will be happy to add to my library. Ralf has been involved with software process
assessment and improvement for many years, so he has the experience necessary to
speak knowledgeably about the topic. He is also addressing two topics that I think
are important for systematic process improvement in today’s world.
First, he is addressing agile methods. I became involved with agile nearly 20
years ago: I was asked to write a book chapter on Extreme Programming from the
perspective of the Capability Maturity Model. I was impressed, surprised, and in-
trigued by the ideas captured in XP. While I would not agree with everything argued
by the XP advocates, for the most part I found the XP practices appealing. I followed
up with other agile methods, eventually becoming a Certified ScrumMaster. In my
encounters with the agile community, I found a variety of perspectives, ranging from
the “responsible center” to “fringe zealots”.
I believe that agile methods have a great deal to offer the process community . . .
although there are those in both communities who downplay the contributions of
the other. Process frameworks, such as CMMI, do not address every organizational
need.
Software process as captured in the Software CMM, and now CMM Integration,
focuses on building the capability of the organization to build systems. The empha-
sis is on operational excellence—meeting commitments, operating in an effective
and efficient manner. There are other priorities that an organization could choose
over operational excellence, such as innovation. In the custom software develop-
ment world, operational excellence is crucial—but innovation cannot be ignored. In
commercial software development, innovation may be the more important priority,
yet meeting commitments is also useful.
Agile methods are focused on the needs of the software team to build a specific
product in a specific context. As the agile experts all admit, you have to tailor the
agile method to the unique needs of the project. If you tailor it too far, it may no
longer be agile—but still be appropriate for the project’s context. There are many
good engineering and management practices embedded in the agile methods that
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